Liquid wax applicators



June 21, 1955 A. F. STEIERT 2,710,981

LIQUID WAX APPLICATORS Filed Sept. 30, 1952 United States Patent LIQUIDWAX APPLICATORS Alois F. Steiert, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application September 30, 1952, Serial No. 312,194

4 Claims. (Cl. -131) My invention relates to a new and useful liquid waxapplicator and one of the objects of the present invention is to combineseveral new features with the structure disclosed in my prior patentdated April 4, 1950, No. 2,502,900.

Another object of this invention is to provide a holder or trayincluding a valve guide at one end centrally thereof and having a handleunit pivoted thereon, said holder or tray having a liquid container orreceptacle removably mounted between the resilient side walls which alsotemporarily hold the applicator unit in place having a longitudinalsliding connection.

Another object of the invention is to produce the holder or tray of theappliance from sheet metal fashioned to provide a bottom wall having anopening for the reception of a portion of a valve, a pair of convergentresilient side walls to detachably retain a liquid receptacle orcontainer within the tray and an applicator unit on the exteriorthereof, and a pair of end walls to which a handle unit is pivoted, oneof said end walls having inturned wings to form a valve guide.

Another object of the invention is to construct the handle unit with abow or yoke having a resilient finger thereon for actuating the valvewhenever the handle structure is moved from either side into asubstantially vertical position. 7

Another object of the present invention is to provide, in a liquid waxapplicator, a receptacle cap or closure with a valve housing having airvents, a relatively large inlet and an outlet surrounded by a valveseat, a plunger rod slidably mounted in the housing and having a valveplug on the lower end, a vent closure intermediate the ends and locatedwithin the housing and a button on the upper or outer end, said plungerrod and its components being spring pressed in a direction to close boththe outlet and vent openings.

A further object of this invention is to provide anapplicator unitincluding a slide and a. pad of absorbent material fixed to theunderneath side of said slide and both being apertured to provide apassageway for the liquid wax released by the valve.

A still further object of the invention is to so construct the variouselements that the container or receptacle and the valve structure willbe within the confines of the handle unit bow or yoke when the parts arein operative positions.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists of thedetails of construction and combination of elements hereinafter setforth and then designated by the claims.

In order that thoseskilled in the art to which this invention appertainsmay understand how to make and use the same I will describe itsconstruction in detail referring by numerals to the accompanying.drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the liquid wax applicator constructed inaccordance with my invention, a portion of the handle being broken away.

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Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and showing in dottedlines another position of the handle unit with the valve depressed.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the holder or tray by itself and aportion of the handle unit broken away.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the applicator unit.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the holder or tray on the line55 of Fig. 3.

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied 10 represents the holderor tray produced from suitable material, such as metal, and including aflat bottom 11, duplicate longitudinal side walls 12 projecting in agenerally upward and inward direction at suitable angles to said bottomwhereby said side walls are convergent, and opposed end walls 13 and 14likewise projecting upwardly from and substantially perpendicular tosaid bottom 11.

The end wall 14 has a valve guide 15 formed therewith by providing anupwardly projecting extension 16 having a pair of suitably spacedinturned side wings 17 and in line with said valve guide is a hole 18 inthe bottom wall 11, Fig. 5, to receive the end of a valve to bepresently described.

To the end walls 13, 14 are pivotally connected at 19 the outer ends ofthe legs 20 of the yoke or bow of the handle unit 21, said yoke or bowalso including a cross bar 22 having a socket 23 for a handle 24. On thecross bar 22 so as to swing therewith in an are above the valve guide 15is a trigger 25- including a resilient tongue 26 to engage the operatingmeans of a valve in the valve guide as the handle unit is swung fromeither side of the appliance towards the vertical center orperpendicular position.

The applicator unit 27 includes a trough-shaped slide including a bottomwall 28 and upwardly inwardly project-ing or convergent side walls 29,the ends of the latter being bevelled or cut back at 30. On theunderneath face of the bottom wall 28 of the slide is fixedly secured apad 31 of appropriate absorbent material, such as cellulose or asuitable fabric to retain a quantity of liquid wax while being appliedto a surface. The bottom wall 28 of the slide has an opening 32 at oneend thereof, which is the forward end as the applicator is beingassembled, and the pad 31 has. a corresponding opening 33 to permit freeflow of liquid wax to the surface being treated. The space betweentheinside surfaces of the side walls 29 of the slide is the same as thedistance between the outside surfaces of the side walls 12 of the holder10 whereby the applicator unit may he slid endwise onto the outside ofthe holder and temporarily held onto the outside of the holder andtemporarily held in place by the coaction of the side walls of saidholder and applicator unit. When the aforementioned parts are assembledthe bottom wall of the applicator unit will underlie the bottom of theholder or tray.

A container or receptacle 34, such as a cylindrical bottle, preferablytransparent, is forced between the resilient side walls 12 of the holder10, said side walls being of sufficient height to extend slightly abovethe plane of the longitudinal center of the container when the latter isresting on the bottom wall of the holder and thereby temporarily clampsaid container in the holder.

The container can be a conventional receptacle in which liquid wax issold to customers or it can be one of the elements of the appliance tobe filled from another receptacle. In either instance the container hasthe usual threaded neck to receive a screw cap 35 which, in the case ofa conventional receptacle in which the product is sold, replaces theoriginal screw cap or closure. If the screw cap has a flared edge thelatter will fit into a slot 36, Fig. 5, provided for this purposealthough the receptacle neck can be of reduced diameter to bring the capwithin the outside diameter of the receptacle body.

A valve structure including a housing 37 is mounted on the outside ofthe end wall of the screw cap and the interiors are in communicationthrough a liquid inlet passageway 38, Fig. 2, provided by a slot in thecap end wall and a similar slot in a side of the valve housing. Thelower end of the valve housing projects beyond the perimeter of thescrew cap for insertion in the hole 18 and said lower end is providedwith a liquid outlet 39 surrounded by a valve seat 40 while the upperend of said valve housing has one or more air inlet or vent openings 41.

A valve stem 42 is slidably mounted in the valve housing 37 forlongitudinal vertical movements and the lower end of said stem projectsthrough the liquid outlet opening. Said lower projecting end carries avalve plug 43 for coaction with the valve seat to control the output offluid from the container 34. A second valve 44, preferably in the formof a disc or washer, is mounted on the valve stem intermediate its endswith a friction fit and may be adjustable lengthwise of said valve stem.This second valve is located inside of the valve housing and is adaptedto engage the inner surface of the upper end of said valve housing tonormally close the air inlet or vent openings 41. Said valves aretoclose their respective openings simultaneously and by adjustablyfastening the valve 44 on the stem 42 said valve 44 can be properlyregulated and, if necessary, adjusted to make up for wear on the valveplug 43.

The valves are urged towards their closed positions by a spring 45surrounding the upper, outer projecting end of the valve stem with oneend of said spring engaging the upper end of the valve housing and theother end in contact with the head or button 46. This head or button isseparate from the valve stem and secured in place after the valve plugand stem are assembled.

After the screw cap 35 has been drawn tight on the container 34 thelatter is forced in between the opposed resilient walls 12 of the holderin order to temporarily clamp said container in the holder. To soassemble the container, the valve structure is aligned with the valveguide 15 in order to pass between the wings 17 thereof and finally asthe container is seated the lower end of the valve housing will projectthrough the hole 18 in the bottom of the holder and the head or button46 will be positioned in the path of travel of the resilient tongue 26of the trigger carried by the cross bar 22 and, for purposes ofillustration, said trigger is shown secured in place by a screw 47. Theapplicator unit 27 may be assembled on the holder 10 at any time bysliding the trough-shaped slide element lengthwise along said holderfrom one end thereof and if the valve structure is in the holder theapertured end of the applicator unit must be initially engaged with theend of the holder opposite the valve guide. When the end wall of theopening or aperture 32 contacts the protruding lower end of the valvehousing the attaching movements of the applicator will be stopped thusproviding a free passage for the liquid wax.

In practice, the apparatus is placed upon a surface, for example afloor, with the applicator pad 31 resting flat on said surface. Then byholding the handle at an angle, on either side of the perpendicular, thetrigger will be spaced from the valve button 46 and the device may bemoved to and fro for rubbing the surface on which the pad is resting. Asthe liquid in the container 34 is required for application to thesurface being treated, the handle unit is moved towards and to theperpendicular position to cause the trigger to engage and depress thebutton 46 against the action of the spring. This will open the valves 43and 44 and allow the liquid contents to fiow through the liquid outlet39 and air to pass through the air inlets 41.

When the desired amount of liquid has run out and passed through theopening 33 onto the surface, the handle is drawn back to permit thespring 45 to close the valves and the applicator is moved about forproperly distributing the liquid, such as a liquid wax, over the surfacebeing treated. It is to be noted that the valve structure is held in anupright position by the valve guide and therefore will not be dislodgedby contact of the trigger with the valve head or button as said triggeris moved from either side of the perpendicular center of the valvestructure.

There may be a number of applicator units for interchangeable use on theholder for different purposes or replacement when one becomes soiled orworn.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details ofconstruction herein shown and described as these may be varied withinthe scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and useful is:

1. A liquid wax applicator comprising a holder including a bottom wallhaving an outlet opening therein, perpendicular end walls and convergentresilient side walls, a container forcibly assembled in the holder andtemporarily clamped between the resilient side walls thereof, a cap onsaid container, a valve structure mounted on the end of said cap andincluding a housing having the interior thereof in communication througha lateral opening with the inner side of the cap, said housing furtherprovided with air inlets at one end and an outlet at the other end, avalve seat surrounding the outlet, a valve plug for cooperation withsaid seat, a valve rod on the valve plug and projecting through the endof the housing opposite the outlet and protruding an appreciabledistance, a button on the protruding end of said valve rod, a secondvalve on the rod to close the air inlets and a spring surrounding theprotruding end of the valve stem and engaging the opposed valve housingand button to urge the valves toward closed positions, a handlestructure pivotally connected with the end walls of the holder, means onthe lrztndle structure for cooperation with the button when the handleis moved from either side towards and to the perpendicular for releasingliquid contents from the container which contents will flow through saidoutlet opening in the holder bottom wall, and an applicator unitremovcbly mounted on the bottom of the holder.

2. The liquid wax applicator according to claim 1, wherein the means toactuate the valves is a trigger mounted on the handle structure andincluding a resilient tongue either end of which is engageable withvalve button.

3. The liquid wax applicator according to claim 1, in combination with avalve guide on one of the holder end walls to receive the valvestructure.

4. The liquid wax applicator according to claim 1 wherein the applicatorunit is comprised of a troughshaped slide including a bottom wall havingan aperture for the passage of wax from the valve structure andconvergent side walls slidably engaging the exteriors of the holder sidewalls for detachably joining said applicator unit to the holder, and anapplicator pad fixedly secured to the exterior of the slide bottom wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,927,788 Larkin Sept. 19, 1933 1,961,518 Larkin June 5, 1934 2,313,787Vaughn Mar. 16, 1943 2,502,900 Steiert Apr. 4, 1950 2,504,262 Hartel etal Apr. 18, 1950 2,642,605 Ray June 23, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 146,487Switzerland July 1, 1931

